Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[JSR]

On 7/9/2023 at 9:12 PM, rojaan19 said:

The world's largest ship named "Icon Of The Seas" sets sail in January 2024.
It will carry 5610 passengers and 2350 crew members.
It has 19 floors with more than 40 bars, restaurants and bowling alleys; it will have 6 slides, 7 swimming pools and 9 hot tubs. !!

 

 

NOW THAT IS A NIGHTMARE !!!  

 

I think I’m an outlier here. Really looking forward to checking this ship out with our daughter and her fiancé. We have so much fun watching them flow ride, slide, and embrace the floating club med vibe. We will do the cruise in suite class so we can have refuge when we need it, expect the food to be dreadful, and the experience fun. Won’t take it anywhere we care about getting on and off so we won’t have to deal with the crowds. Now that we are older we prefer to be itinerary driven cruises on nicer ships but can’t pass up fun with the 20 somethings. 

[JSR]

35 minutes ago, JSR said:

We just did a b2b on the Edge. One leg in steerage, one leg in Retreat. It was our second time On Edge. The first time we found the ship exciting, the second time annoying. The people on the other hand were delightful. Meet two fellows randomly on the elevator who we had cocktails with every night. Even discovered we had a mutual non cruising friend. 
also, go with low food expectations. A secret at least in the Med is that the buffet at night isn’t crowded and they grill fish (not frozen some nights) to order. They also will grill chicken and minute steaks. The stir fry is also made to order. May not be the highest quality of ingredients but at least it is fresh and generally tasty. 
Also while the Retreat class thrilled us the first go around, the second we found it a waste except the dedicated concierge was helpful when we had a situation back home that needed lots of paper work printed, faxed, etc. may also be that it was a port intensive cruise so we didn’t have a lot of hang out time. No matter what just go and enjoy. Better than not being on vacation.  

I would add now that I have read your post that CC doesn’t always attract a reflection of the people on the cruise. This is the upside of a large ship. Lots of different people. You will find your people. 

[Daveywavey70]

36 minutes ago, JSR said:

We just did a b2b on the Edge. One leg in steerage, one leg in Retreat. It was our second time On Edge. The first time we found the ship exciting, the second time annoying. The people on the other hand were delightful. Meet two fellows randomly on the elevator who we had cocktails with every night. Even discovered we had a mutual non cruising friend. 
also, go with low food expectations. A secret at least in the Med is that the buffet at night isn’t crowded and they grill fish (not frozen some nights) to order. They also will grill chicken and minute steaks. The stir fry is also made to order. May not be the highest quality of ingredients but at least it is fresh and generally tasty. 
Also while the Retreat class thrilled us the first go around, the second we found it a waste except the dedicated concierge was helpful when we had a situation back home that needed lots of paper work printed, faxed, etc. may also be that it was a port intensive cruise so we didn’t have a lot of hang out time. No matter what just go and enjoy. Better than not being on vacation.  

Many Thanks JSR.Ive already bought the 5 night speciality dining package. What's the quality like on the specialties? I'm not really a fan of MDRs' so will happily pay the upcharge every night if I need to. Being from a hospitality background I only go to Buffets as a very last resort (I've seen things over the years that can't be unseen). 

[JSR]

13 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Many Thanks JSR.Ive already bought the 5 night speciality dining package. What's the quality like on the specialties? I'm not really a fan of MDRs' so will happily pay the upcharge every night if I need to. Being from a hospitality background I only go to Buffets as a very last resort (I've seen things over the years that can't be unseen). 

Totally with you on buffets until this cruise. Because I don’t eat salt the grill master would go back in the frig for a fish for me and grill it while I waited. I’m a fish person

Lower expectations will help with the specialty dinning too. I just got off the QM2 - Queen’s grill where the food is some of the best I’ve had on a ship so I’m a bit less enthusiastic about other ship’s food. 
 

Eden is gimmicky and has some hits and  misses. Went in 2019 and they’ve change it up a bit. Go for the atmosphere- not the food. Good cocktails 
Raw on 5 which the exception of fresh oysters is pretty bad (we were in the Med so this so the oysters may very) 

Fine Cut is good. My husband liked his meat and my lobster was decent. Not rubbery. The service was nice. 
Le Petite chef/grand bistro we have never been to. 
The grill on the roof is pretty good but make sure you don’t go on a windy night. I liked my food there. 
magic carpet - have to sign up right when you get on the ship. They only do this once a cruise and the night is determined by the weather. We did this in 2019. Way too much food but good and fun. 
room service is mediocre at best 
 

main dining is 4 smaller dinning rooms. We had not done main dinning in more years than I can remember except on SS Moon and Queens Grill QM2. We did it the first leg of the edge cruise and there were some decent dishes. Maybe because I don’t eat meat and I don’t eat salt, more things were made to order for me. It is banquet preparation not to order in general. Just in case you decide to give it a try. 
 

We ate in port as often as we could. 
 

if you go with the expectation of the food being edible to good you will be fine. 

[Daveywavey70]

4 minutes ago, JSR said:

Totally with you on buffets until this cruise. Because I don’t eat salt the grill master would go back in the frig for a fish for me and grill it while I waited. I’m a fish person

Lower expectations will help with the specialty dinning too. I just got off the QM2 - Queen’s grill where the food is some of the best I’ve had on a ship so I’m a bit less enthusiastic about other ship’s food. 
 

Eden is gimmicky and has some hits and  misses. Went in 2019 and they’ve change it up a bit. Go for the atmosphere- not the food. Good cocktails 
Raw on 5 which the exception of fresh oysters is pretty bad (we were in the Med so this so the oysters may very) 

Fine Cut is good. My husband liked his meat and my lobster was decent. Not rubbery. The service was nice. 
Le Petite chef/grand bistro we have never been to. 
The grill on the roof is pretty good but make sure you don’t go on a windy night. I liked my food there. 
magic carpet - have to sign up right when you get on the ship. They only do this once a cruise and the night is determined by the weather. We did this in 2019. Way too much food but good and fun. 
room service is mediocre at best 
 

main dining is 4 smaller dinning rooms. We had not done main dinning in more years than I can remember except on SS Moon and Queens Grill QM2. We did it the first leg of the edge cruise and there were some decent dishes. Maybe because I don’t eat meat and I don’t eat salt, more things were made to order for me. It is banquet preparation not to order in general. Just in case you decide to give it a try. 
 

We ate in port as often as we could. 
 

if you go with the expectation of the food being edible to good you will be fine. 

Many thanks for the heads up. I Wasn't really expecting much anyway but it's best to be prepared!

[Stumblefoot]

6 minutes ago, JSR said:

If you go with the expectation of the food being edible to good you will be fine.

This is all I need to know.

[zqtchas]

11 hours ago, drron29 said:

And I wore mine every time I left the Moon on our 54 day sojourn aboard.

We’re you wearing them when you missed the curb, fell and broke your iPhone?

[JSR]

I don’t know where to post this. I feel most comfortable posting in SS thread because in general people are thoughtful and funny. Should I post it as it’s own post or in the water cooler? Here is the title. I need to finish writing it but would appreciate posting advice. I plan to list a couple things that each cruise did well.
 
One year, 4 cruise lines, 5 cabins, 3 cruise ships and an ocean liner . 

[mysty]

17 minutes ago, JSR said:

I don’t know where to post this. I feel most comfortable posting in SS thread because in general people are thoughtful and funny. Should I post it as it’s own post or in the water cooler? Here is the title. I need to finish writing it but would appreciate posting advice. I plan to list a couple things that each cruise did well.
 
One year, 4 cruise lines, 5 cabins, 3 cruise ships and an ocean liner . 

 

Some folks avoid the Cooler!  This space is not widely accepted.  In fact some CC members would prefer that it disappear.  If you want to reach more people who might be very interested in your thoughts,  maybe start your own thread.  Your thoughts would be very welcome here though!  It depends really on the coverage you would like!  

Edited July 12, 2023 by mysty

[dawntrdr]

19 minutes ago, JSR said:

I plan to list a couple things that each cruise did well.

I certainly would be interested in reading your well-travelled post.  There are no dedicated "compare and contrast" general topics on the boards home-page so I would suggest that it could go in as a new topic in the cruise-line forum for any of the lines that you will be discussing.  

Edited July 12, 2023 by dawntrdr

[TLCOhio]

19 minutes ago, JSR said:

I don’t know where to post this. I feel most comfortable posting in SS thread because in general people are thoughtful and funny. Should I post it as it’s own post or in the water cooler? Here is the title. I need to finish writing it but would appreciate posting advice. I plan to list a couple things that each cruise did well.  One year, 4 cruise lines, 5 cabins, 3 cruise ships and an ocean liner . 

 

Good and interesting background and insights.  Suggest posting separately as it might get more notice and higher readership via than a Cooler posting.  Things go fast at the Cooler and it could get missed here.  Would suggest title of "Silversea & Others: What Doing Well?"

 

Looking forward to your sharing of these details.  Agree with reality of  Mysty saying: "Some folks avoid the Cooler! "

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

Edited July 12, 2023 by TLCOhio

[JSR]

Thank you. I shall post it on the main thread. Sad to hear that some would like to see the water cooler go away. I so enjoy it. The jokes, the banter, and the information. 

 

By the way our daughter got engaged last Saturday. We have only been home for a week from our cruise so things are very exciting. Though the unknown wedding date does make cruise booking a challenge. 🤣

[mysty]

13 minutes ago, JSR said:

Thank you. I shall post it on the main thread. Sad to hear that some would like to see the water cooler go away. I so enjoy it. The jokes, the banter, and the information. 

 

By the way our daughter got engaged last Saturday. We have only been home for a week from our cruise so things are very exciting. Though the unknown wedding date does make cruise booking a challenge. 🤣

 

Best wishes to your daughter and her beau!  😁

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Many thanks for the heads up. I Wasn't really expecting much anyway but it's best to be prepared!

No salt and no meat for you then.

[Daveywavey70]

1 hour ago, Mr Luxury said:

No salt and no meat for you then.

Salt I can live without but I'm an avid carnivore! That's why I find keto so easy, just feed me meat and cheese every 3 hours and I'm a happy bunny! None of that vegetarian muck for me. 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Daveywavey70
Autocorrect GRRRR

[Lois R]

3 hours ago, JSR said:

Thank you. I shall post it on the main thread. Sad to hear that some would like to see the water cooler go away. I so enjoy it. The jokes, the banter, and the information. 

 

By the way our daughter got engaged last Saturday. We have only been home for a week from our cruise so things are very exciting. Though the unknown wedding date does make cruise booking a challenge. 🤣

Congrats on the upcoming nuptuals!😃and I would also be interested  in your cruise comparisons.

[JSR]

16 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Salt I can live without but I'm an avid carnivore! That's why I find keto so easy, just feed me meat and cheese every 3 hours and I'm a happy bunny! None of that vegetarian muck for me. 

My husband had some decent steaks on X. You can always ask for them without salt and then they will make them to order if you get a decent waiter. You can always add salt at the table if you want it. 😂

I know you’re not keen on the buffet… they have a nice selection of cheese which they slice for you, the blue cheese in particular was good. Some of the buffet is not typical buffet in that it’s not pre cooked. It’s like cool to order stations. 

[JSR]

1 minute ago, Lois R said:

Congrats on the upcoming nuptuals!😃and I would also be interested  in your cruise comparisons.

Thank you. We are very happy and excited. Hard giving them space to enjoy the engagement. I so want to call and say take off work so we can go look at venues. I shall resist 

 

I’m working on the comparison. I wrote it in my head while doing the track on the QM2 - seemed so easy then. 😂 now I’m writing it and trying not to be long winded. I do keep getting distracted by the sun on our condo balcony and chores that have to be done. ..

[drron29]

3 hours ago, zqtchas said:

We’re you wearing them when you missed the curb, fell and broke your iPhone?

That was before I even owned a pair of sketchers. It was due to my peripheral neuropathy and foot drop. makes it harder to judge.

[Stumblefoot]

7 hours ago, JSR said:

One year, 4 cruise lines, 5 cabins, 3 cruise ships and an ocean liner . 

I’d suggest turning it into a comedy special.  Maybe start a YouTube channel and make millions 💰.  The title reminds me of a joke titled, “A rabbi, a priest, and a minister walk into a bar…”

[Host Jazzbeau]

34 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

I’d suggest turning it into a comedy special.  Maybe start a YouTube channel and make millions 💰.  The title reminds me of a joke titled, “A rabbi, a priest, and a minister walk into a bar…”

Or ... a rabbit, a priest and a minster walk into a bar.  The rabbit says "I'm only here because of a typo" 😀

[Host Jazzbeau]

5 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Salt I can live without but I'm an avid carnivore! That's why I find keto so easy, just feed me meat and cheese every 3 hours and I'm a happy bunny! None of that vegetarian muck for me. 

Salt does make a steak taste that much better.  And I expect it also makes bunnies taste better too.  You'd better watch out – considering you are already worried about cannibals on Celebrity!!! 

[Tothesunset]

A priest, a rabbi, an imam and a Shaolin monk walk into a bar. 

 

They have a really nice evening because most people don't want conflict. 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great safe fun day all!

[Reef Knot]

17 hours ago, mysty said:

 

Some folks avoid the Cooler!  This space is not widely accepted.  In fact some CC members would prefer that it disappear.  If you want to reach more people who might be very interested in your thoughts,  maybe start your own thread.  Your thoughts would be very welcome here though!  It depends really on the coverage you would like!  

 

Mysty,

I took time away from CC but recently I booked an Antarctica cruise with Seabourn so I find myself looking in on both the SS and SB forums.  Inevitably I’m drawn to the cooler, your jokes of the day along with the many other funnies are a sure fire way to get the day off to a good start, and JP’s trips are always enjoyable keeping up with.  So I for one don't want to see this cooler forum disappearing anytime soon.